Fly Like a Bird or a Girl From Georgia
by Jynxisruler13
Summary: Elena moves to New York and meets Tony. She joins the Avengers and ends up being happy for once, and no longer needs to hide her abilities. All Avengers featured, plus my OC and Bucky, Sam Wilson (falcon), and Loki is an avenger now. Mostly Fluff and dialouge, but still has plot. Basically a year in the life. Rated T because I always rate things T.
1. Prologue

**I own nothing. This is my first Avengers Fan fiction, it's mostly dialogue and fluff. I was mostly just trying to get used to the marvel universe so there isn't really a major climax of the story. It's all finished and I'm just editing and posting. Every chapter has it's own prompt, so those will be at the top of the chapter. Hope you like the fluff bunny I wrote.**

Railroad: Write about a Train and its cargo or passengers.

Chapter 1/ Prologue

This was a big move. New York was very different from Georgia. Her parents didn't want her to go to New York; she couldn't blame them, not really. After the alien invasion 4 years ago and the thing in Sokovia last year, The Avengers weren't her parent's favorite people. New York was just being the target for their fears because that's where the whole team lives. It's not just the six of them anymore though. That's probably why they lived in what was formally Stark Tower.

Elena sighed and continued to stare at the passing scenery. Her parents had told her that if she moved to New York, of all places in the world, then she would no longer be their daughter. She wasn't as upset about it as she could've been. Her sister was the loved one and she was the accident that their overly religious minds couldn't give up for fear of going to Hell. So really, her deciding to move to New York despite the warnings and forewarned consequences was just her speeding up the process.

Her parents had always hated her. They thought she was unnatural. It was true, but that's not what you say to your eight year old daughter when she asks why she needs to be home schooled while her older sister could go to school. She wasn't even aloud out of the house without the many safety measures: layers of jackets covering her body. Layers wouldn't be as bad in New York with the chillier weather, she thought with disdain, thinking of all the times she almost got heatstroke at the county fair in the middle of summer.

Elena knew she was just being bitter, but that didn't change anything. She wanted to leave Georgia and never go back, so that's what she was doing. It was about time too. She should've left when she turned 18 but she was broke. She'd spent the past 5 years working full time, and every other shift she could get her hands on, and now here she was. She had enough money for 3 months rent at a crappy apartment building in the grey area of town. Anything to get her out of that stupid house was good in her book. She already had the apartment and the first month's rent was ready to be handed over when she arrived. Hopefully she could get a job quickly.


	2. Oh Crap

**I own nothing. No comments from dickheads please, but I do love reviews. Constructive criticism is different than douche-baggery.**

Bakers Dozen: Imagine the sights and smells of a bakery and write.

Two months later:

Elena woke up ready for the day. She'd found that living in New York was the best choice she could have picked. No calls were coming from her mother asking her why she couldn't be a successful doctor in Georgia like her sister, or why she couldn't be normal like her sister, or why she couldn't move into the house down the block from them like her sister had. She always saw a pattern of some kind in the words her mother spoke at her, she'd never quite figured out what it was though. She rolled her eyes and went into the bathroom.

After completing her morning routine she sighed and stared into her closet. It was filled with cheep shirts, skirts, dresses, and short shorts to wear under those skirts and dresses. She had a plethora of shirts though. Her 'abilities' saw to her ruining shirts whenever her body decided to spontaneously change into something different.

Shaking herself out of her wandering mind to the spontaneity in her life that she couldn't control, she sighed again. It was too early in the morning to be thinking this deep about how sad her life was. She needed coffee and it was her day off.

With her new goal in mind, Elena pulled on a pair of red skinny jeans, a flowing grey sweater shirt, a pale pink scarf was wrapped around her neck, and a pair of navy blue Converse were pulled onto her feet. Nodding in approval of her outfit she grabbed her bag and left her building.

It was nice enough out so she decided to walk to the bakery downtown and get a coffee and some breakfast. _Maybe this way I will stop thinking about my 'abilities'_ she thought.

Walking into the bakery she breathed in deeply and smelled the mixed aroma that would make anyone feel at home; fresh baked bread, coffee, and donuts. Walking up to the counter and ordering, she paid before sitting down in an empty table near the door and away from the busy area on the other side where the line had backed up.

As she sat eating her donut and drinking her treasured coffee she felt a twitch go through her body. She sighed and crinkled her eyebrows trying to decide if she had the time to finish her coffee before making a run for it. She figured she did and took a greedy sip before the feeling of eyes on her made her look up. She saw no one and shrugged it off, this was a busy bakery so it stood to reason that someone might glance at her every once in a while. The twitch returned with a vengeance and she sighed irritably as she realized she would probably not get the chance to finish her coffee.

Springing from her seat, she practically ran from the little building. She turned into the nearest concealed ally and hid as she felt the slight twinge of pain followed by the sound of her shirt ripping in the back. Sighing she sat behind a dumpster to wait this out and hope it went away quicker than last time when they wouldn't go away for almost two hours.

What Elena didn't know was that in her panic to get out of the bakery, she didn't see the man that followed her. This was the same man that had been looking at her when she wrote it off as a glance from a stranger. He watched from the shadows at the entrance of the ally as this seemingly normal girl had something big happen while in public, but people walked by none the wiser. He watched as she curled up and sat behind a dumpster, hidden from sight to anyone who wasn't looking. He watched her and got lost in thought about this girl, then got into his car and had his driver drive him back to the tower he called home.

This man was none other than Anthony Edward Stark, who still had the ability to add another person to his crime fighting team no questions asked. He had been going through SHIELD's files for months trying to find someone so he wasn't the only one who hadn't invited someone, but he had come up empty and he had not seen her file anywhere. He sat down in his private lab with a grin and sat back, it was going to be a fun night.

"JARVIS, I want you to scan any security footage we can get from the city and pin point anyone who meets the description I'm going to give you."

"Of course, sir, may I ask why?" the AI responded

"I found my choice and I need to find her. If SHIELD doesn't know about her then nobody does, which means I can't search by her abilities. So find a girl that is about 5'3", long and straight brown hair, blue eyes, runs into allies every once in a while. Start your search outside the bakery I was at today. She ran out just before I did and went into the ally. Find her and run a check, I want to know who she is and where she lives. Give me any info you can find without being too creepy." A few minutes passed as JARVIS ran the scans and Tony watched images flip on the screen from SHIELD files to ensure that they knew nothing about her. He began working on the blueprints for his next project and got halfway through when JARVIS made a noise signaling the end of the search.

"Sir, all information on the girl that was available has been sent to your private tablet. Will that be all Sir?" Tony opened the file excitedly and frowned slightly at the small amount of information on this girl. He saw her address and scrunched up his face.

"JARVIS get me my least expensive car and program the quickest route to her apartment into my GPS. Find her current whereabouts and keep me updated on her movement throughout the city. Keep this quiet from the rest of the team and everyone else, this is top secret and don't let Natasha see this when she 'overrides' your system. Find something else to use as a dummy set up that seems plausible and notify me if it becomes necessary for me to know what you came up with."

"Right away, Sir"

"I'm gonna go recruit me an Avenger." Tony smirked before running to his garage where his car was ready to go and programmed with the address. Sometimes it paid to be a genius.

Elena decided to not go right home after her incident. She still had a jacket that was intact and threw that on over her torn shirt. She spent all day walking around the city. She made it to her apartment when it was closing in on 8pm and opened the door. As she locked the door again she felt someone's eyes on her, which was odd since she lived alone. She had no weapons on her and felt foolish for that fact considering where she lived. Briefly debating running right back out the door and making a break for it she turned around to face the intruder.


	3. Join Us

**I own nothing.**

Greeting: Write a story or poem staring with the word Hello

Eye contact: Write about two people seeing each other for the first time

"Hello, I'm Tony Stark, and you are awesome." Elena stood frozen as she stared at the billionaire who stood in the center of her living room telling her she was awesome.

"What?" She stuttered oh so eloquently.

"You're awesome. You've managed to hide your abilities and stay off of SHIELD's radar for 23 or so odd years. That's awesome. Not only that but you're also pretty good at killing time. Seriously I've been here since about two hours after you ran from the bakery and you've been walking around the city without purpose or getting bored, pretty impressive if I do say so myself."

"Why are you here and what do you mean by abilities?" Elena asked with a sinking feeling.

"Well it's quite simple really. You can grow wings out of your back and I need to choose someone to be an Avenger so I'm not the only one who hasn't done it yet."

"Well, that is not what I was expecting."

"Yeah, well, I aim to be spontaneous. I usually succeed."

"I'm sure your PR department loves you." To her surprise he actually laughed before telling her to sit after plopping down himself.

"Okay, here's the deal: I really don't want to be the only original Avenger who hasn't picked someone to be on the team, and you should join as my choice."

"I don't get what you mean by choice, and I don't quite understand how I could be any help aside from being a lift." She lied

"So the eight guns hidden in your apartment don't mean you can shoot a gun with at least some accuracy?" Elena blushed and looked away from him as he smirked in victory. "Or, you know, the targets from a gun range that are covered in head, heart, and crotch shots." She blushed harder and his smirk widened. "As far as the whole choice thing goes... well... Basically each of the first six Avengers gets a special card of sorts, like get out of jail free. Only our cards give that person the ability to choose one new Avenger."

"So each of you six get a metaphoric card that allows someone onto the Avengers team without any questions asked and your boss is required to agree?"

"Unless they are proven to be fighting against us from the moment they're recruited on, then they are admitted. Treason is intolerable though."

"So, who chose who?"

"Well, Bruce chose Wanda, Clint chose Pietro, Thor chose Loki, Natasha chose Sam, Steve chose Bucky, and I'm choosing you."

"Who?"

"Hulk chose Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye chose Quicksilver, Thor chose Loki, Black Widow chose Falcon, and Cap chose The Winter Soldier."

"Okay, sorry I didn't recognize some of the names; my parents hate you guys and New York so I haven't really had a chance to learn much about you."

"It's cool, so what do you say? Be my choice for the Avengers and join the side of the light."

"I-I don't know..."

"It comes with free everything and a good paycheck. You get your own set of rooms in the tower with shared kitchen and living room, the paycheck from SHIELD, plus all living expenses are paid for. I will buy anyone on the team anything they need at anytime, for any price, as long as they ask or steal my credit card. Plus it's a ready-made family." Elena laughed slightly at that and smiled over at Tony.

"Fine, I'll join your boy band."

"Boy band, huh?"

"What?"

"That's what I called it when they tried to recruit Iron Man, even though I wasn't part of the package at the time."

"Interesting, I'm going to assume I don't need to introduce myself to you, right?"

"Right-o, now why don't I come back around Lunch tomorrow to come get you and bring your stuff to the tower? The sooner you move in the better."

"Okay, not going to lie, living in a tower is a compelling offer compared to living in this shit hole."

"Agreed," He replied looking around disdainfully before exiting the apartment and leaving for the Tower. He grinned as he slid into the driver's seat and thought of what was to come the next day.


	4. Meet the Team

**I own nothing.**

The sound of silence: Write about staying quiet when you feel like shouting

The next morning Elena woke up tired. She'd spent most of the night packing her bags for the second time in three months. Nothing had sunk in yet about how fast everything was moving. After showering she dressed herself in the clothing she'd left out of the bags and boxes that now held all of her possessions. Standing in front of the built in mirror in the bathroom Elena inspected herself.

Today she wore dark blue skinny jeans with rips and tears in the legs, an olive green tee shirt that was very loose fitting and flowing (she'd learned that tight shirts ripped in a circle leaving her exposed while flowing or loose shirts left the front of the shirt intact), and a pair of black flats with big bows on the front. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she had a loose black cover up to wear over her shirt. Mentally telling herself that it was as good as it would get she went to drink a coffee and wait for Tony to arrive and bring her to the Tower.

He arrived late of course, but helped her bring all of her things down to the two cars he had brought. One was a black SUV with a driver and the other was a sports car that he had obviously driven himself. An hour of back and forth from car to apartment and they were off. As they drove down the busy city streets Tony picked up his phone and made a call.

"Hey Legolas, call a meeting and have everyone in the conference room with Fury on standby. I'll be there in about 15 minutes." Elena heard someone talking but couldn't make out what they said. "Yup, him too, and please make sure you're all ready for something amazing." He promptly hung up the phone and looked over to Elena with a small smirk. "You ready to strut?"

"I'd really rather not strut. It makes me look pompous."

"Ouch, but no matter. I think I can have some fun with this." Tony began asking a multitude of questions on the control she had over her abilities and on whether or not she'd ever considered cutting slits in the back of her shirt so she didn't rip them.

"I have considered slits, and I even tried them, but it just made the back of the shirt be torn to shreds easier."

"Huh, maybe I could find a way to make a shirt that would open in the back like flaps whenever you're about to spontaneously grow giant wings."

"Maybe..."

"Well we're here." He stated as he pulled into the garage and parked the car.

"Really, I hadn't noticed." She deadpanned; he looked at her with slightly narrowed eyes before getting out. She followed and listened to him go on and on about the different floors in the tower. The top 15 floors were for the Avengers, the next 10 down were R&D, followed by 7 for Stark Industries and the last 20 floors were miscellaneous, ranging from more labs to a pool room (billiards and a pool in the same room). The ride on the elevator was basically him bragging about his tower and its awesome abilities and how his robot AI ran most of it. She even got to meet JARVIS, which was interesting and just a little creepy. The elevator dinged and Tony began leading her to what was presumably the conference room.

"You have to admit that having a tower that's 52 floors and running entirely on clean energy is pretty fucking amazing!" He self praised as they entered a room, she decided to finally let out the comment she'd been holding in since she'd first seen the tower.

"Yeah, so are you compensating for something with your 52 floors running on entirely clean energy?" she heard someone snort and turned to see the Avengers, earths mightiest heroes, staring at her and Tony. Then she registered exactly what she'd just said and a blush rose to her cheeks.

"Oh I can assure you I'm not compensating. I have _plenty_ of people who can attest to that fact." Never one to back down she promptly forgot about their audience and looked at the man again with a raised eyebrow.

" _People_ huh? Not just women? Tell me where these _people_ aware that you weren't a woman or were they just as drunk as you? I mean you do have a girlish figure so maybe it would be harder to realize you were in fact male... unless that's what you're compensating for?" Tony stared at her with mock betrayal.

"I invite you to join our boy band and this is how you treat me? You can just go back to your shitty apartment that is probably being mugged right now and live with the cockroaches."

"Maybe you should move there, you'd be with your own kind."

"Are you calling me a cockroach?"

"Are you telling me to leave?" They stared at each other until someone cleared their throat.

"Not that I don't agree about him being a cockroach but who are you and why are we here?" Pietro asked. Tony had shown her pictures of all the Avengers on the way to the Tower so she would know who was who and they could skip introductions.

"We are here to meet our newest teammate and I take offence to being called a cockroach."

"Wait, you used your invitation on her?" Steve asked "Sorry that came out wrong." He corrected when he saw everyone turn to him with a surprised look. "I meant to say that you finally used your invitation..."

"It's all good, I take no offence. It's not even that bad compared to some other comments I've heard about my person." Elena replied.

"Okay, so who are you?"

"Elena Hartley, nice to meet all of you, and don't bother with introductions he told me who all of you are."

"You don't have a file in SHIELD's database." Fury, who was on the screen and had stayed silent thus far, chimed in.

"Well you can start one now I guess." Tony stated proud that he'd found her first.

"So what are your abilities exactly?" Clint asked

"Well, I guess you'll just have to figure it out Katniss."

"Katniss? Really? You could do so much better." Elena frowned up at Tony, he smirked.

"Challenge accepted."

"That wasn't a challenge that was a statement."

"Well we can't turn her away so we might as well start to train her if she's going to be any help at all." Natasha stated. "My guess is that Stark was getting sick of being the only one without a choice on the team and picked her up off the streets outside that stupid Shwarma place."

"It was a bakery actually; well actually he broke into my apartment after having JARVIS follow me from the bakery and run a background check."

"Stark stop breaking into places you don't belong. The rest of you, train her and make her at least suitable to be in the field." Fury barked out before ending his side of the call.

"Might as well start now, do you know how to use any weapons?" Natasha asked

"I can shoot a gun..." Tony smirked at the understatement.

"I will be the judge of that." She replied before standing and leaving the room telling Elena to follow her. Everyone went with her, except Tony, and they made it to the shooting range on the third floor of the Avengers area. "Pick a gun and shoot the target with as much accuracy as you can."

"Of course, any certain gun or just any of them?"

"You can use these ones." Tony stated as he entered the room holding a large briefcase that he retrieved from where all of Elena's luggage had been delivered.

"Where did those come from?" Natasha asked as she stared at the magnificent guns before her. She and Clint were staring at them with want in their eyes. Elena picked up her two favorite guns and walked over to the range area and loaded them.

"My apartment." She stated before unloading the entire clip in each with one in each hand. She went over and grabbed the targets, brought them over to the team, and frowned.

"Dang it, I was off on the crotch shots." Everyone turned to look at Elena before looking back at the targets that held three tiny circles and one double circle in the crotch area.

"How did you do that? You're just as good as Clint."

"It was easy. My sight is better than most peoples." Everyone went their separate ways after that and Elena went to unpack. Bruce and Tony went to the lab, Natasha and Clint went to the kitchen to cook dinner, Steve, Sam and Bucky went to the living room to discuss living in the 21st century, while Wanda and Pietro went to learn about America, Thor and Loki went to sit in the library so Loki could read and Thor could watch him like a creep.


	5. Unpacking

**I own nothing**

Color Palette: find one online and write about it

Elena followed the direction JARVIS was giving her to find her room. It was on the third from the top floor and she apparently shared that floor with all the other 'choices'. Wanda and Pietro's were the first two on the right, Sam and Bucky the first two on the left, Loki the third on the right and Elena the third on the left. JARVIS informed her that the other Avengers share the floor above them and that Tony had the top floor to himself as a penthouse style apartment. The floor below hers was where all the shared things were, like the kitchen and living room.

When Elena walked into her room she was shocked at the pure size of it. Her bedroom was the size of her whole apartment and her bathroom had a massive tub. She had a small kitchenette and floor to ceiling windows. This was defiantly a step up from her old living arrangements and she was glad she'd accepted. Her room was painted a dark shade of teal, the sheets were dark grey, and the two armchairs in the corner of her room were a grey blue that was similar to the color of the sky before a rain storm. Her bathroom was painted sea foam green and everything in it was cream colored. Her flooring was dark brown hardwood all throughout the set of rooms and the counter in the kitchenette was grey granite. She was suitably impressed.

She unpacked all of her clothing into the massive closet and put her wide array of shoes against the wall near the door out of her room. Her belongings slowly made their ways to the shelves in the room and everything was soon unpacked and perfect. She'd spent all day unpacking and it was now closing in on 6pm. Tony had said they ate dinner together four nights a week, no exceptions, at 6:30 so she decided to change out of her dusty and dirty clothing. However as she went to change she decided a shower was probably good thing to do as well.

Showering was quickly done and clothing was now being picked out. She stood in front of her closet and tried to decide what to wear. She didn't own anything fancy so she didn't need to worry about over dressing, but she was still a little cautious when choosing because she never knew when her wings would decide to make a surprise appearance.

She ended up in a black flowing skirt that went just farther that mid thigh, a maroon, loose fitting, tank top, a red plaid shirt was used as a cover up for her back, and a simple pair of black ballet flats complete with the ribbon that wrapped around her ankles finished off the look. Her hair was quickly thrown into a messy bun on the top of her head and a touch of clear lip gloss was spread on her lips. She heard a knock and went to the door. Opening it she came face to face with Wanda.

"Hey, just came to see if everything was going okay in here."

"Everything's fine, I finished unpacking and showered and changed."

"Mind if I come in? We only have a little bit of time until dinner and I figured I could talk to you for a little while."

"Sure come on in. Anything you wanted to talk about in particular?"

"Not really, I'm sure it will be a regular Spanish inquisition at dinner."

"Oh..."

"Don't worry it's really not that bad. Pietro and I went through it and I'm fine. Holy crap, that is a lot of shoes."

"Yeah, I guess I'm addicted to them or something."

"I'd say."

"Mrs. Maximoff and Mrs. Hartley, I was asked to inform you both that dinner was ready and you should hurry up and go to the dining room."

"Thank you JARVIS, let them know we're on our way." Wanda replied before practically dragging Elena from the room and to the elevator.

"This should be fun." Elena muttered to herself as she exited the elevator and saw the entire group sitting at the table watching her with questions in their eyes. Wanda grabbed the last seat on the side of the table and Elena was left to sit at the head of the table opposite Tony who sat at the other end.


	6. Secret's Out

**I own nothing.**

Dictionary Definition: open the dictionary to a random page and use six of the words on it.

 _Is this supposed to make me feel like I'm standing trial?_ She thought as she sat in the seat. Everyone began eating and Elena was instantly glad that they would let her eat before making her talk.

Elena frowned 20 minutes later when she noticed that everyone had finished eating and were now all watching her. She put down her fork and looked at the assembled group who looked right back at her.

"Well gang, let's begin shall we? Remember, one question each." Tony stated with a smirk at Elena. She glared at him for not telling her this part of the evening and frowned slightly when she felt a twinge.

"So, is the better than normal eyesight the only power you posses?" Bruce asked

"No."

"Where are you from?" Pietro asked

"Georgia."

"Why doesn't SHIELD have a file on you?" Natasha asked

"Because there's almost nothing about me on paper."

"How'd you manage that?" Wanda asked

"My mother homeschooled me and never let me go to college or University. My only job was at a small diner and my apartment is a pile of shit because I'm practically broke. I'm not someone who draws attention to myself."

"Then how did you get Tony's attention?" Clint asked

"How am I supposed to know? One minute I was in a bakery eating a donut, the next I ran into an ally, and then I spent the day walking around the city only to have him standing in my living room when I got back." She frowned again when the twinge happened again. She started flexing her shoulder blades in an attempt to make the wings stay inside of her back until she could get to her room.

"Why did you run into an ally?" Sam asked

"Because... I felt someone watching me and I wanted some privacy from the crowded bakery." _That wasn't a complete lie, just didn't mention why I wanted the privacy from the people in the bakery_.

"What is your IQ?" Thor asked, everyone groaned at the question

"Thor, we're supposed to try and figure out what kind of person she is, that is such a stupid question when we can test her without her knowledge." Clint moaned

"Sorry, I shall ask another."

"105, my IQ is 105!" Elena rushed out before he could ask another question, everyone looked at her and a few rolled their eyes, but the others smiled.

"What is your most embarrassing memory?" Loki asked looking for blackmail. Everyone leaned forward in their seats slightly when she blushed hard.

"Um... when I was 14 I accidentally flashed 15 of my sister's friends at my house." Loki raised an eyebrow and indicated for her to continue. "My shirt basically disappeared and my skirt didn't hide much. My sister joined them in laughing at my expense." Most of them frowned at that.

"You don't get along with your family do you?" Steve asked, Elena felt a twinge again, only it was stronger this time and so she tried to hurry the questioning along. She'd never had to hold it in this long and wasn't certain what the repercussions of such an action would be.

"No, they disowned me. My parents didn't want me, I was an accident but they couldn't get rid of me because of public image." She blurted in a rush, Tony saw the panicked look in her eyes and decided to help her out.

"So, do you like pizza?" Everyone looked at Tony at his question and he shrugged. "I'm bored and she looks tired."

"I love pizza."

"Have you ever killed anyone?" Bucky asked

"Not that I know of," She blurted "Can I go now? I'm really quite tired." She asked quickly, she couldn't hold of the wince as the pain began. It looked like this one was going to be a painful one.

"Are you feeling alright?" Bruce asked going into doctor mode.

"Fine!" She yelled before blushing.

"Go ahead and go." Tony said quickly

"Tony?" Steve asked. Elena got up and almost fell back down from the pain that spiked to an all time high.

"Thank you for dinner, it was great, have a nice night." She rushed, never forgetting her manners. She turned and started to run from the room but the pain tore through her back and she let out a scream. Everyone was up and looking at her by this point.

"Tony, is this going to be dangerous?" Natasha asked

"No, it will just be painful for her. Hey might I suggest removing the plaid shirt, that way you don't ruin it?" Elena tore the plaid shirt off and luckily managed to not do any damage to it. She hard gasps from behind her.

"Why does she have those?" Bruce asked referring to the two straight scars that were placed just beside her shoulder blades. They were very bad because of the fact that they opened every time her wings came out. It only ever hurt if it was involuntarily or held back for too long, as she was about to demonstrate.

"That would be because of her abilities." Tony stated, he sounded a lot closer and when Elena looked up from her place on the floor she was looking into Tony's eyes. Her hands grabbed around trying to find purchase and he allowed her to take hold of his hands. She squeezed them and he winced slightly, then she felt the wings sprout from her back. They spanned out and she panted as she tried to pull them back towards her body.

"Holy shit, she has wings." Was Clint's oh so eloquent response and what broke the silence from the shock of not only the wings but the fact that Tony volunteered himself to help Elena get through the pain.

"I guess the secrets out huh?" Elena asked

"Yeah, guess so. On the bright side, I don't think you ripped your shirt much." She huffed a laugh and he helped her stand. They turned to look at the team, who stood with gaping mouths and surprised expressions.

"They're beautiful." Wanda whispered. Elena thought of her wings. They were black and large. They curled at the top and had small talons and the feathers were very soft. They were quite the sight, but Elena only saw them as beautiful when they weren't causing her immense pain. The group made their way over to the small sitting area on that floor and everyone sat. Tony sat with Elena on the smallest couch and everyone else sat on different chairs and couches scattered around the room.

"Does it always hurt that much? I mean I assume that hurt." Steve stuttered out

"No it doesn't. Usually it's just the feeling of a few pin pricks when the scars open. I don't know why, but sometime they just hurt more. It only ever hurts more when it's spontaneous or held back and it just feels like being pinched when it's voluntary."

"Can you get rid of them whenever you want? Or bring them out whenever you want?" Sam asked with obvious excitement to not be the only one with wings anymore.

"I can bring them out whenever I want, but sometimes they decide they need to stretch and come out against my will. I can usually put them away when I want but when I didn't want them to come out in the first place they need to go back on their own."

"Have you always had them?" Loki asked, he seemed curious to the logistics of it all and was examining the wings without touching from the seat he'd claimed closest to her.

"Yup, it's why I was homeschooled and what made me flash my sister's friends. Tighter shirts tend to rip in a circle whereas flowing or loose shirts tear up and down. Then I got nervous and they began flapping which made me fly, and I was wearing a skirt, so yeah... now when I wear a skirt I wear shorts under them."

"Not gonna' lie; it's a cool party trick. Does this have anything to do with your improved sight?" Clint asked

"Yeah, I got birds eyes to go with the wings."

"I think they're more like angels wings over bird wings." Tony whispered, Elena blushed and everyone looked at Tony in confusion, except Bucky who snorted.

"That was bad Stark."

"It was amazing." He defended

"It was interesting..." Elena chimed in

"What was it?"

"Not telling" All three chorused, everyone groaned and Loki smirked.

"He's not wrong about it though." Everyone looked at Loki who smirked. "I was curious and your minds are so easy to read. Those thoughts are quite interesting Tony, but I think their target only has ones that are being denied at the moment." Tony blushed and everyone was left wondering exactly what thoughts Loki was speaking of.

"Well, I'm just going to have to change that then..." Loki smirked at him and Elena felt her wings receding. A few short questions later and everyone parted ways to go to bed or the lab or the library.


	7. Testing

**I own nothing. For the wings, look up the wings from Maleficent.**

Night owl: Write about staying up at night

The next three weeks passed and Elena got closer with all of her new teammates. They'd shown Fury her wings, but she refused to have them inspected by their scientists. It was a new morning about a month after she'd met Tony when JARVIS woke Elena up and she decided she was going to have to talk to Tony about his AI's tendency to do that.

Slipping into the shower she spent some extra time standing with her back under the spray before getting out. The second she stepped up to the closet, wrapped in only her towel, JARVIS spoke and scared the crap out of her. She still wasn't used to having a butler, let alone an automated one.

"Mrs. Hartley, Mr. Stark has asked me to ask if you could come down to lab so he and Dr. Banner could talk to you."

"Tell them I will be there in about 20 minutes. What floor are they on?"

"They are on the top floor of the Lab, research, and development section of the building."

"Thank you JARVIS." She slipped on her favorite black skirt from the night she'd arrived, the shirt with the lowest back that happened to be yellow, and a pair of black combat boots. Her hair was put in a pony tail and she left for the labs.

Upon her arrival she was greeted by the two very curious, cautious, and excited scientists. They dragged her across the lab and to a bench before sitting across from her.

"Can we see and inspect your wings?" Tony asked

"That could've been phrased better." Bruce stated "But the idea is still the same."

"You're lucky I like you two." _Maybe one more than the other, and maybe that one more than I should when I only met him four weeks ago._

"So is that a yes?" Tony asked, she nodded and closed her eyes. When she opened them she had wings and the two scientists were smiling. "You're awesome. Can you lie down on your stomach?" Elena sighed but rolled her eyes and complied. They began to inspect, measure, poke, and prod at her wings and she laughed at their enthusiasm. After half an hour of this she got bored and began asking questions about what they were doing, their current projects, and anything else she could think of. That is how she spent her day, laying out on a bench in the lab. The let her eat and stretch her legs and anything else as long as she promised to come back after a certain amount of time.

At the end of the day she was dismissed when Bruce went to bed. She sat and stared at Tony for a little while before finally asking the important question on her mind.

"Do you like pizza?" He smirked and turned to look at her.

"Yes, why?"

"Just seemed like a good icebreaker question. Why aren't you going to bed?"

"I'm not tired." He said around a yawn.

"And I'm an elephant. Speaking of elephants, I think there's one in the room."

"Is it pink? Because if it's not then I'm not interested. And I'm not talking about it."

"We could get one in the room, but only after you tell me why you don't sleep."

"What do you mean, why I don't sleep?"

"I may have asked JARVIS a couple days ago when I saw you inhaling coffee why you drink so much and he said it was because you only slept when you passed out from exhaustion."

"JARVIS is a traitor."

"JARVIS was telling the truth and I want to know why you don't sleep."

"And I don't want to talk about it."

"I'll make you a deal. You tell me and then me and you can go upstairs and drink ourselves into oblivion and see if we can see a pink elephant."

"Fine, but only because I never can get you to drink."

"Good, now start talking."

"I get nightmares. I can't sleep because I'm terrified to close my eyes."

"Nightmares about what?"

"Well, the torture I endured in Afghanistan, New York, the Mandarin, AIM's projects, Sokovia, and my parents oddly enough."

"So you have nightmares about pretty much every instance where you or someone close to you almost died or did die?"

"Yup, now how about that drink; or two hundred?"

"Fine, a deal's a deal." The two of them walked to the elevator and Tony brought them to his penthouse. Elena was in awe for all of five seconds before she was dragged to the bar tucked into the corner. She'd never actually been on Tony's floor before and was suitably impressed, especially with the view.

They drank well into the early morning and talked about their lives in general. Both had big sob stories and both had hilarious moments. Tony had just told a big secret and now it was Elena's turn.

"I've never been kissed."

"Wait, never? That means you've also never..."

"Nope."

"Well then, I guess we should remedy that." Tony said as he leaned in and kissed her on the mouth. She melted into him and they kissed until the need for air was far too great. Tony smirked and gave her another drink. The alcohol was flowing like water down a cliff and both were very inebriated by 1am when they went to bed.


	8. First Fight

**I own nothing.**

Bug catcher: Write about insects.

The next morning Elena woke with a pounding headache and a very warm back. She tried to sit up but felt restrained around her waist. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked down to see a hand and arm around her. She froze and wracked her brain trying to remember the night before.

When Tony woke up he felt someone in his arms. It used to be a familiar feeling but by this point it was quite alien. He hadn't been sleeping around since Obiedah tried to steal his Arc Reactor and he realized how easily someone could kill him. He looked down and saw a flash of brown hair doing the same. He began to panic and wrack his brain for the events that occurred the night before.

They both were thinking and came up with similar conclusions.

 _We got drunk, I told her all my biggest secrets and insecurities, then we slept together and not in the platonic sense. This could be a problem or this could be a stepping stone... I think it might be both; I defiantly still have too many issues to start anything with her._ Tony thought, he felt Elena move and knew she was defiantly awake. He debated pretending to still be asleep but decided that would make things worse.

 _We got drunk, exchanged secrets and life stories, then we... well at least now I know he wasn't lying about overcompensating with his tower... Oh god, what am I going to do! I really like him and now this! Oh god, I lost my virginity to Tony Stark... huh, I'm not as miffed about that as I should be..._ Elena decided to stop thinking about the night before when she felt Tony shift a little farther away from her and remove his arm.

"Well this is a little awkward..." Tony said, Elena turned to face him with a massive blush on her face.

"Just a little... so... how does this work exactly?" Tony frowned and winced slightly when he remembered that he had just taken her virginity.

"Um... I'm not entirely sure... I haven't slept with anyone in a while so I'm a little rusty on the morning after protocol." That wasn't true but he felt like she needed to know that he hadn't slept with anyone recently. They were both saved from the embarrassment of the moment when JARVIS spoke up.

"Sir, Mrs. Hartley, the Avengers have been asked to assemble. It seems a horde of massive insects that are human size are terrorizing Brooklyn and Director Fury would like it to stop."

"Wait, he wants me out with them?"

"Yes, he said it shall be your introduction to the world."

"Well then, I guess you get to use the new suit Bruce and I made you."

"You two made me a suit?"

"Yeah it was a surprise. I have it up here, why don't I go get it?" Elena nodded and watched as he left the room pulling on his underwear on the way. _Yeah, defiantly not overcompensating._ She thought before leaping up and putting on her bra and underwear. He came back in with his eyes cast at the ground and holding out a single piece of material.

"You can use the bathroom in here... I just need to grab my clothes from the closet and then I'll be gone." He rushed to the massive walk in closet and grabbed what he needed before rushing from the room.

Fifteen minutes later and everyone was assembled in the conference room and ready to go. Tony arrived last as per usual and everyone left together.

When they arrived the insects were terrorizing civilians and demolishing the streets, so the team set out to begin helping. Elena was flying and shooting alongside the Falcon and they were making progress. The whole ordeal was done in less than an hour and the press had already given her a name: Sparrow. They didn't catch the maker of the bugs but when they landed and inspected one of the dead soldiers Elena just about threw up.

"This is disgusting."

"No kidding, come on let's go back to the tower." Clint stated. She grew her wings and began the flight. She and Sam flew together and Tony followed them in his suit. They arrived at the Tower and went to the conference room to be debriefed. After that Tony and Bruce ran from the room for the lab to start their work for the day and play with all their new insect corpses and weapons. Everyone went to do their own thing to calm down after the morning fight and Elena was left alone with her thoughts about what exactly she was going to do about Tony.


	9. Attack 2

**I own nothing.**

Trust: write about putting your trust in someone

It was only a week later when the team was called out again because of another attack by the mutant insects. Tony had been avoiding Elena and she was not happy with him. She really liked him but with him avoiding talking to her she couldn't talk to him about their one night stand. She wanted more but that seemed to be out of the cards at the moment.

When they arrived in downtown Manhattan the bugs were already terrorizing. Sam and her took flight again and began to shoot all insects. Everything was going great but there were waves of the insects. They just kept on coming and it seemed as though they had an army of soldiers.

It was the fifth wave when she and Sam radioed in about splitting up. The avengers on the ground had spread out and with only four people offering aerial support they figured it best to spread out. Seeing as they were in little danger in the sky everyone agreed it was the best course of action.

Sam flew off and Elena continued to eliminate soldiers with one shot each. All of a sudden she felt something hit her from behind. She tried to flip in the air but it cause immense pain. She looked over to see one of her wings hanging at an awkward angle and she knew the only thing keeping her in the air was the thing attacking her.

"We have aerial soldiers!" Elena shouted

"What!?"

"I'm being attacked from behind and- and I think my wing is broken."

"Wilson, get over there and help her!" Tony yelled, he was encountering some of the flying insects himself and it now made sense why the ground soldiers were not coming anymore, they were flying. "These things are ugly." Tony joked. It seemed that the creator of the insects had only made a few of the flying ones and the battle was over only minutes later. Tony flew over to Bruce to hand him some pants and fill him in on what happened. The two then went to where Sam was reporting from to help.

"Holy shit, I really don't know how to deal with this." Bruce stated.

"Let's start by getting her back to the tower and out of the media's eyes." Tony stated.

"Why don't you and Sam fly her there, and then meet me in the med bay."

"Sure thing." Sam said from near her head. It took some manoeuvring but they eventually made it back to the tower and Bruce was waiting from them in the med bay when they returned.

"Okay I'm gonna do an x-ray, lay her down on her stomach over there." Sam left the room quickly while Tony helped Bruce set everything up. He'd just finished placing the machine in the correct position when Elena grabbed his hand. He smiled slightly and squeezed before going back to where Bruce stood.

"That is so cool." Tony stated looking at the x-ray of her wing. "And defiantly broken; It's already healing, we need to set it before it heals anymore or else we'd need to break it again."

"Right, you hear that Elena?"

"Yeah, did I forget to mention that my wings heal very fast?"

"Yeah, maybe just a little." Bruce stated.

"Do you need help to set it, because I can go get Natasha. You know I can't set bones, it makes me puke."

"No I should be able to set it myself. I don't think you should get rid of the wings until the x-ray confirms that they're healed though."

"Yeah, and I guess I have to stay here under supervision so I can get x-rayed until I can leave?"

"Indeed." Bruce was getting ready to set the wing and Elena was already wincing.

"Anyway could we just not do anything? Because just your hands hovering are hurting it."

"Tony, be a nice guy and hold her hand so she doesn't move around too much."

"Who am I being a nice guy to by doing that?"

"Both of us, now go."

"I really don't think you should set it."

"Elena calm down, you're going to be fine."

"Please don't do it Bruce, please. I really don't like it when people touch my wings."

"You've let us touch them before, just pretend like it's a situation like that." Tony coaxed as he saw the frantic look on Bruce's face. He walked around to the opposite side and grabbed Elena's hand.

"That was different, it didn't hurt."

"Elena, do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then trust me when I say: it will hurt more if we don't set it, and the only reason it hurts now is because it is healing that way and it is growing bones around nerves. Let Bruce fix it, tell him it's okay to fix it." Tony said, trying his hardest not to flinch or wince at the pain she was causing in his hand. It took a moment but she finally nodded slightly and that was all the indication Bruce needed. He immediately took her broken wings and there was a snap that signaled it being in place again. Elena screamed and started crying slightly. Tony took his other hand and ran it over the back of her head.

"Try not to move it too much. I'll be back in an hour or so to x-ray it again." Bruce said around a yawn.

"Don't worry about it Bruce, I can keep an eye on it and her, go get some sleep."

"Are you sure Tony?"

"We'll be fine... hopefully."

"Fine, get JARVIS to let me know of you need anything."

"Cool." Bruce left and silence descended. Nothing was said and Tony continued to run his hands through Elena's hair.

"We really like elephants don't we." Elena broke the silence. Tony's hand paused but he chuckled.

"Yeah, well, maybe this time we avoid the pink ones. Those are the ones that cause stampedes though your head the next morning."

"They also impair your ability to make decisions, and in some people they make them make choices they regret the next morning."

"Are you one of those people?" Tony asked quietly

"No... But I think I know someone who is."

"Yeah... Bruce is defiantly one of those people. He needs help." Elena laughed quietly and Tony smiled.

"Who said I was speaking about Bruce?"

"Well, Steve, Bucky, Thor, and Loki can't get drunk, Natasha and Clint don't drink because they are master assassins, if they did drink they can hold their liquor better than Steve so... Sam's sober because drinking makes him depressed through memories of his past, Wanda and Pietro are only 20, thus not legal, but when they drink they don't because they don't like the taste, plus they stick together like glue. That leaves Bruce and me, and I know for a fact I never regret my decisions in the morning, at least I haven't since Afghanistan."

"So, Bruce?"

"Bruce."

"He should probably talk to his last one night stand, I think she misses him."

"And stop avoiding her... it makes him feel like shit, but he doesn't know what to say to her."

"I think he should tell her what he wants to do about them. Bruce might've used to be a bit of a playboy but he confirmed he hasn't slept with anyone in a while until her. Now though, I don't see him as the type for one night stands."

"Oh, he's very much still one for one night stands, he just is too scared to actually do them, plus he's looking for something a little more substantial."

"Well, I think that's enough about Bruce. Tell me what would you want if you were Bruce?"

"I would want to take this girl on a date. She seems really awesome and has these really cool wings. Only problem is that I'm not very good at the whole romance thing. I tried with Pepper and every time I did something nice she accused me of cheating. Then when I asked her to move in with me she ran off with Happy, who she was cheating on me with. I also don't know if it's a good thing because I'm pretty messed up and I don't sleep, I only eat when I remember, and I'm pretty self absorbed."

"You know if I was that girl and you were Bruce, I would say that I find those faults pretty damn adorable. I'd like the fact that you think she's awesome because nobody ever has. I'd never be like Pepper. I don't like cheaters and refuse to be one. I'm also all for romance whether it's cheesy, corny, stupid, or even a failure. I'd believe that it was the thought that counted, as long as he never tired to cook for me because I don't want to deal with fires."

"Wow, Bruce should really come to us for dating advice."

"He should, we're the perfect choice for him."

"So... how's tomorrow at 8 sound for a date?"

"It sounds like you're asking me out."

"Huh, I was going for threatening."

"You should probably work on that."

"Probably,"

"Seriously though, it sounds like a plan."

"That's good because I don't do rejection."

"What are the team going to say about this?" her only response was silence. "Should we keep this a secret for a little while? At least until we're comfortable being with each other?"

"That would probably be for the best."

"Yeah, you don't mind right?"

"As long as you don't, if you ever want to tell them we will." She nodded and he smiled. "So does this mean I can kiss you?"

"I guess so..." She said with a put upon sigh

"Good." He leaned in and kissed her lightly on her lips. It was soft and gentle and lingering. Elena melted into the kiss and reached up to hold him to her. He pulled away when the need for air was great and placed his forehead on hers.

"This is going to be interesting."

"What is?"

"We live with two master assassins, a guy with advanced senses, and a god that can read minds. How are we ever going to keep this a secret?"

"All dates take place on your floor, and we tell Loki so he can cover for us and keep it a secret?"

"I think we should tell Loki and Bruce. Everyone trusts Bruce to tell the truth, if Loki does it they might think it's a lie."

"So we wait until after our first date?"

"Yup..." He kissed her again and she smiled "Why don't we x-ray your wing now?"

"Fine," She sighed before kissing him again.

"You're distracting me; maybe I should call Bruce down here to act as a buffer."

"No, let him sleep." She let go of him and he smiled and rose to do the x-ray. They spent most of the day kissing and talking quietly. People came to visit and none were the wiser to what was going on. Her wing was healed by the end of the day and they'd told Loki and Bruce their plan and how they fit in. Both men had laughed slightly and agreed to keep the others off their trail. Loki had actually become a good friend to both of them and Bruce was Tony's best friend so it never left either of them any doubt they'd say no.


	10. Huh

**I own nothing.**

Caught Red Handed: Write about someone getting caught doing something they shouldn't

Glasses: Write about someone wearing glasses

A month later and Tony and Elena's relationship was still very much a secret. They had progressed into sleeping with one another most nights and Tony trusted her explicitly because he knew it was returned. They'd finally caught the insect maker and Elena was very happy for once on her life.

He'd run down to the lab with Bruce an hour ago and she'd gone to get dressed and shower in her own room. She was now getting dressed in her room and getting lost in thoughts about last night. Last night he'd told her he loved her and she'd found herself returning the sentiment. Of course what followed was very satisfying as well, so that probably had something to do with her getting lost in thought.

She stood in front of her closet and pulled on a pair of faded blue skinny jeans, a red flowing tank top with a white and black patterned pocket over the right breast, a pair of white low cut converse, and her hair went into a ponytail. She went searching for her favorite cover up, a grey knitted one that had an open front and long sleeves, but couldn't find it anywhere. Eventually she remembered leaving it up in Tony's room so she decided to go get it.

It was the first time she was in these rooms alone and she decided to do a little bit of snooping while she was looking for her sweater. Going through his stuff was a little strange since he had so much of it. She decided to at least appear to be searching for her sweater and went into the giant closet to continue her snooping. She found that it was mostly empty and only the front half was filled. She began to go though the drawers and pockets from his suits. What really drew her in was the massive sunglass collection he kept. She went to the tray that sat on top on the table in the center of the room. It held watches, sunglasses, a few rings, and wallets. She picked up a few watches and rings but put on a pair of sunglasses. She took them off instantly, they hurt her eyes.

"What in the?" She tried on a few more pairs and found the same results. She went to pick up the last pair but they were glued to the tray and they opened a secret compartment in the side of the table. Out came a thin tray that held a single pair of glasses, prescription glasses. She picked them up and then heard someone enter the room.

"Elena? What are you doing in here?" Tony seemed surprised and a little nervous.

"I was trying to find my sweater, then I saw the sunglasses and decided to snoop, I realized they were all prescription. Tony, does anyone actually know that you wear glasses? Or at least that you should?"

"Yes..."

"Other than me?"

"No..."

"How do you manage that?"

"Contact lenses and my iron man suits are equipped to be like a giant pairs of glasses. I have hidden contact lenses in most of the bathrooms near the lab or common areas. Please promise you won't tell anyone!"

"You are ridiculous and vain."

"Please?"

"On two conditions... wait, make that three."

"Okay..."

"I want my sweater back from wherever you've hidden it." He went to the back half of the closet and got the sweater in question from a hanger near the wall that separated the two halves.

"You know if you ever leave anything here it will be in the back half of the closet, and you are allowed to leave stuff here if you want... so you don't need to sneak into your room every morning with yesterdays clothing on."

"We shall talk about that comment later. Second condition, I want Thai food, it's your choice for dinner tonight, chose Thai."

"But I don't like Thai."

"You also don't want anyone to know your dirty little secret."

"Fine,"

"Finally, I want to see you wear your glasses on our next date."

"Why?"

"Because I think glasses are sexy."

"I can't have sex in glasses."

"Then you can put contacts in before the end of the night."

"Your logic is flawed."

"No it's not, it's perfect."

"Flawed."

"Is this why you wear sunglasses inside?"

"It is now; my eyes got damaged during my torture, that's when I started need glasses and why the first suit sucked supremely."

"Oh... sorry."

"No problem-o, speaking of our next date, how does a movie tonight sound?"

"I would love to but I promised Wanda and Natasha a girl's night. How about tomorrow?"

"I don't like sharing my things." He whispered as he tugged her to his chest

"Oh, I'm yours now am I?"

"Don't get all pissy, I'm all for equal rights, I'm yours as well."

"You are very possessive."

"Are you complaining?"

"Nope."

"Good."

"Sir, may I remind you of your reason for coming up to your room and that Dr. Banner is waiting for you in the lab?" JARVIS interrupted

"Stupid AI's and stupid rage monsters."

"Why did you come up here?"

"Bruce wants to use Palladium for an experiment. I keep my stash in here."

"Why and where?"

"I keep it in a secret compartment and because I don't want it in my lab."

"You keep your poisonous element in your closet in a secret compartment because you don't want it in your lab?"

"Yes."

"You're an idiot. I love you." She kissed his nose and left the room after shoving his glasses onto his face "Your eyesight sucks!" She called over her shoulder.

"Love you too." He mumbled before getting the old element that had kept him alive as he died.


	11. Girls night

**I own nothing.**

Cliché: Write a cliché or multiple in your writing (Haste makes waste)

That same night the three girls on the team met in Natasha's room for girl's night after a satisfying meal of Thai food. They were planning on sleeping in there too so they were all dressed and ready for bed. The main Avengers rooms were a little different in the way that they had T.V.'s and couches in them on top of everything else.

"So what are we doing tonight?" Wanda asked

"I was thinking talking, gossiping, and watching bad movies." Natasha replied, she was surprisingly girly once you got her alone and she warmed up to you.

"By bad movies you mean..?"

"Rom-coms and chick flicks." She said with a smirk as they all laughed.

"Let's start with junk food and gossip because I have some serious questions." Elena stated, the other two nodded seriously before Natasha left. She returned with three tubs of ice cream, Double Fudge Brownie for Wanda, Cookie Dough for Elena and Peanut Butter Fudge Crunch for Herself. The ice cream was passed around and the gossip started.

"So you've only ever had one boyfriend and that was Vision for like a month before he was destroyed?" Elena asked

"Yeah well, I'd like to see you try and date with Pietro hanging over your shoulder."

"Why don't you let me set you up with someone?" Natasha asked

"Maybe, it depends on the prospects."

"Pick anyone from the SHIELD database and I can swing it. That goes for you too Elena."

"Yeah, I'm good in the romance department."

"What does that mean?" Wanda inquired

"I don't want to be set up, I'm happy how I am right now."

"Okay then..." Natasha stated not detecting a lie because there wasn't one in what Elena said.

"How about you Nat, are you and Clint still happy together?" Wanda asked

"Yeah..."

"What?"

"Nothing, I think he wants to propose to me."

"How long have you two been together?" Elena was genuinely curious

"About 10 years."

"And you're still not sure if you want to spend the rest of your life with him?" Wanda seemed baffled

"It's not that, it's just... I don't know if I can be a wife. What if we get married and I make a terrible wife?"

"You just heard yourself right?" Wanda smirked

"I think what Wanda was trying to say was: you won't be a terrible wife because you basically already are his wife."

"Yeah, but after marriage comes kids..."

"So you don't want to get married because you don't know if you'll make a good mother?" Wanda asked

"Maybe..."

"Well you don't need to have kids right away. You could talk to Clint about this and see what he thinks." Wanda tried to figure out Natasha's logic

"I think the fact that you already worry about it means that you'll make a great mother." Elena reassured

"Think that all you want." Natasha muttered

"Why don't we change the subject?" Elena suggested

"Fine, so how's the sex?"

"What?!" Natasha and Elena exclaimed

"What? I'm curious and I won't be getting any anytime soon because of my twin, might as well live vicariously through Nat since I'm pretty sure you're not getting any either."

"The sex is great, now another change in subject." Wanda frowned but picked up one of the movies they had lying aside.

"Movie?"

"Sure." The other two girls answered. After the first movie Wanda looked at Natasha and asked a question that was obviously bothering her.

"Why haven't you and Clint gotten married before now or talked about it at the very least?"

"We used to talk about it but neither of us was ready. Haste is waste and all that. He would always say that he didn't want to ruin our relationship and I would say that I didn't want the weakness. We stopped talking about it 5 years ago and that's why it bothers me now. We're both ready so I have to wait until he gets the balls to ask me."

"Well that's interesting... How about we watch Grease next?"

"Okay!" Natasha seemed overly excited about that and the other two raised their eyebrows. The red head simply shrugged and pointed to the disk and T.V.

They spent the night talking and laughing. Elena couldn't remember the last time she'd had that much fun without Tony present. She debated suggesting a team fun night but then realized that Thor would take it too seriously and order everyone to be there and have fun while Bucky would avoid it at all costs. That's what had happened with the quad weekly team dinners. She didn't want a repeat of that because it was a pain to have secret dates with Tony with those, with team fun night it would be damn near impossible.

They finally got tired around 2am and settled down for bed. When the Elena knew the other two girls were asleep she snuck out to the living room area to check with JARVIS.

"JARVIS, did Tony go to bed yet?"

"Not yet Mrs. Hartley. He shows no signs of intending to do so either."

"Is he still in the lab?"

"Yes."

"Is he alone?"

"Yes, Dr. Banner went to bed hours ago."

"Can you tell him that I'm sending him to bed and if he doesn't comply I'm going to start a celibacy stint?"

"Of course Mrs. Hartley." If Elena didn't know any better she would say that she detected a hint of amusement in the AIs answer but she brushed it off and went back to bed. Down in the lab JARVIS delivered the message.

"Sending me to bed with a threat is she? Well then, if I didn't know she would follow through I would hold a protest and stay up just to spite her. JARVIS, to my floor please?" He stated as he stepped into the elevator. He smiled at the thought of her chastising him through an AI while the other two girls were asleep in the next room.


	12. Date Night

**I own nothing.**

Cute as a button: Write about something you find adorable

Elena walked into the penthouse just before eight to see Tony pacing the floor and on the phone. He hadn't noticed her yet so she just leaned against the wall and watched him. Momentarily she debated giving him some privacy for his call but he looked aggravated and she was curious.

"Look Pepper, just because you're the CEO does not mean you can all of a sudden decide what the company sells!" He yelled in anger at the phone, he turned and saw Elena by the elevator and waved her over. "I refuse to let _my_ company sell weapons of any sort! We are now a company specializing in clean energy and random inventions plus a massive science department that works under Bruce." He pulled her to his in a hug and she just stayed nestled in his side as he screamed at his ex-girlfriend CEO. "Don't even go there." he looked furious and Elena was curious as to where exactly Pepper went. "You know what? I'm done for tonight, I have plans and they just arrived. You and I will talk about this in person when you get back from your vacation." He hung up the phone before Pepper could respond and he immediately claimed Elena's mouth.

"Is everything okay?" Elena asked "Also, where are your glasses?" Tony sighed but turned to go to his bedroom. He returned a few minutes later, shuffling into the room, with his glasses resting innocently on his nose. He looked amazing in Elena's opinion. "Seriously, you look sexy." He rolled his eyes

"To answer your earlier question, no everything is not okay. Pepper has people digging up the records from when my company used to make weapons. She wants to start that up again, but I don't. I cancelled their search and called her. You witnessed the end of an hour long argument about this. I swear she's just trying to make my life a living hell because I forced her to go on vacation. Company policy dictated she had to three months ago because of how often she works but she refused saying that I was going to do something stupid in front of the press before she got back and it was going to ruin the company."

"She has lots of faith in you I see." Elena kissed his jaw, seeing as how that's as far as she could reach, even on her toes.

"You are way too short... I love it." Tony smirked at her and she swatted his arm.

"I love your glasses. They make you look very sophisticated." He huffed a small laugh and rolled his eyes. "Is there any way I could get you to wear them more often?"

"No, I refuse to wear them as much as I do, which is only when I'm alone and have no chance of seeing anyone, or when I can't get any contacts which hasn't happened since the third week after the Avengers moved in. Pepper doesn't even know and she was there when I started to realize I needed them."

"Well then... I'm determined to make you wear them in front of the Avengers." He rolled his eyes and brought her to the kitchen. Something only Elena knew, aside from the glasses, was that Tony couldn't cook to save his life but he was an amazing baker. He had ordered in take out and made dessert for them. She smiled and sat down beside him at the island. Little did Tony know, she was already planning how she would get everyone to see him in his glasses.

The next morning when Tony woke up it was already past 11am and Elena was gone. That wasn't really that surprising though, she usually left around 7am so she wouldn't get caught going back to her room. He put on his glasses and went to the bathroom for his contact lenses. Today they were having a team lunch as opposed to dinner because it was Clint and Natasha's anniversary and they had plans. That meant he had an hour to get ready and go down to the dining room. He looked for his contact lenses everywhere but couldn't find them anywhere. All of a sudden he had a sinking feeling about what embarrassment the day would hold.

"JARVIS, where are my contact lenses?"

"I do believe that Mrs. Hartley has them on her person."

"Are any of my backups still hidden or does she have them all?"

"She has depleted all stores of contact lenses on the premises. I am also to inform you that Lunch has been pushed up by half an hour due to a meeting that has been called that Captain Rogers needs to attend."

"So I have less than half an hour, no contact lenses, and a team lunch."

"Yes, sir."

"I'm going to kill her."

"I would advise against that sir, you seem to be quite fond of Mrs. Hartley."

"Traitor,"

"Just being a team player sir." Tony growled and got dressed. He went down to the dining room and 11:35 to see everyone sitting around the table waiting for him. Nobody had noticed him hiding in the shadows of the door except for Elena who smirked his way.

"What is taking Tony so long?" Natasha complained

"Maybe he's being his normal vain self." Elena suggested casually, Tony glared at her. She looked so innocent in her flower printed skirt and white long sleeve top. She even had those giant ringlet curls today and was the picture of innocence. He decided to let out a small secret in exchange for outing her mischief.

"I hate you so much." Tony growled as he stormed into the room glaring at Elena.

"Why? Are you wearing glasses?"

"Tony, since when do you wear glasses?" Bruce asked

"I met all of your conditions and you promised me you would keep this a secret!"

"I did keep it a secret." She said, dropping the ignorant act

"Then what do you call this?"

"I call that not being very observant."

"How?"

"You didn't notice when I snuck into your bathroom and stole your contact lenses, nor when I stole all the other ones you have hidden around."

"Where are they?"

"I hid them, I guess you'll just have to wear your glasses until you can find them or get new ones." She sighed and smirked.

"I hate you so much." He said as he plopped down into the only empty seat at the head of the table. When he noticed this he glared even harder at Elena.

"I've heard." She smirked.

"When did you get glasses?" Natasha asked, not used to not knowing things.

"What caused you needing them?" Clint asked

"They actually look pretty good." Wanda said

"And you tease me about needing glasses?" Bruce chuckled "Those look like a stronger prescription than mine, what prescription do you have?"

"Yeah, just how bad is your eye sight?" Steve asked his worry apparent.

"I got glasses about a month after I came back from Afghanistan because my eyes were damaged when I was being tortured. They weren't bad at first but one morning I woke up and could barely see a foot in front of my face. Thank you Wanda, but I disagree. Yes I tease you because you are constantly playing with them and looking uncomfortable, my prescription is... let's just say it's very strong. My eyesight sucks but I can see fine with contacts, my suit, or glasses. I programmed my suits eyes to be like my glasses."

"That's why you only let me work on the rest of the suit, but not the head!" Bruce exclaimed.

"How does nobody know about this?" Bucky asked

"How did Elena find out?" Loki asked with a grin.

"I can keep a secret and I'm pretty good at making things, glasses included. As for Elena, I'm sure you already know Loki, but she found them in my room."

"Why was she in your room?" Steve asked

"To ask me a question, I was wearing them and she saw them where I hid them because of her stupid eyesight being better than perfect. Can we eat lunch now?" They did and the whole time the team made fun of Tony for his terrible eyesight. That night when Elena went up to Tony's rooms he kicked her out. She frowned when JARVIS wouldn't let her into the room or the lab the next day. By the time a week passed without Tony talking to her she felt very guilty and ended up crying herself to sleep.


	13. Meet Pepper

**I own nothing.**

Dread: write about something you dreaded doing

Elena was feeling really terrible and ended up sleeping in and not leaving her room the next day. She puked when she woke up and continued to cry for most of the day. When first Wanda, then Steve, and finally Natasha came to see why she wasn't leaving her room she told them all the same thing: she wasn't feeling good and was sick. They all bought it and she instructed JARVIS to make them all leave her alone.

When Tony got the message from JARVIS he almost went to check on her, but remembered his pity party and stopped himself. He felt kind of stupid about the whole thing but he was still very angry at Elena for breaking her promise to not tell anyone about his visual impairment. He was still receiving teasing from most of the team and Steve made him take a vision test.

The next day Elena was feeling better and decided to leave her room. When she got to the common floor, though, she heard raised voices. She saw some other members of the team heading in and then she heard what exactly the raised voices where yelling about. Weapons and the direction of Stark Industries. _I guess Pepper's back then. I bet he would forgive her sooner than he is me. Hell I bet he would forgive everyone faster than me._ She almost started to cry again but managed to stem that.

"Tony, do you know the differences in profit we have between now and when we were selling weapons?!" She entered at this point and looked around, _oh look she brought her new boyfriend._

"Hey Happy." Natasha greeted "So what's going on?"

"Pepper wants to start selling weapons again, and Tony doesn't."

"Not surprising really. Tony believes in keeping the peace, building weapons would destroy it." Clint stated

"I'm not making weapons!"

"You don't have to, that's what we have workers for!"

"I still own this company Pepper; you don't get to make these decisions!"

"The council agrees with me!"

"I am the sole share holder in the company, the council can fuck themselves! I can replace them and you without much effort because guess what? It's my company and you are trying to stage an impeachment!" they glared at each other and everyone watched them trying to see who'd crack first. All of a sudden Elena's eyes grew wide, she ran across the room and into the bathroom. She skidded across the floor and didn't even bother closing the door before she puked; only just making it to the toilet in time.

"So that's the girl you chose to be on the Avengers? Does she have a weak stomach or something?" she heard Pepper asked. She didn't need to turn around to know everyone was staring at her. She puked again, but this time she felt cool hands holding her hair back. Looking up she found Loki with a furrow in his brows. His eyes grew wide and then narrowed.

"What are you doing?" She asked him in a calm voice.

"Oh, just reading your mind and checking your health to make sure it's nothing too serious."

"Would you stop reading people's minds? It's rude." He rolled his eyes and got a concerned look on his face.

"Is she okay?" Tony asked with obvious worry. She looked past Loki to see everyone looking into the bathroom.

"She'll be fine." He said as he helped her to her feet. "I'm going to bring her to her room so she can get some rest. You can all continue with what you were doing." Tony was obviously deliberating going with them but shook his head, with one last glance he turned to Pepper again. "You are in some special kind of trouble Elena." He whispered to her, she frowned but said nothing as they entered the elevator.

"Is there anything wrong with me?" She asked Loki s they entered her rooms

"I don't think so. I am a little bit rusty on my diagnosing magic so I would rather do a little research then try it again and let you know then. In the mean time just try to eat right, don't drink or smoke, and make up with Tony. He knows he's being stupid but he feels you betrayed him. He would forgive you if you apologized."

"How am I supposed to apologize when he locks me out of the two rooms he frequents and avoids me like the plague... or his glasses?"

"Corner him, it's what Thor did to me and now look, we're the best of brothers."

"Different kinds of relationships work differently."

"How would you know, this is your first relationship?"

"Seriously, stop reading my mind and forget what you've already seen."

"I like the imagery from you and Tony's night time activities."

"LOKI!" Elena yelled as she blushed and he vanished. Elena knew he was right about apologizing though, she may dread doing it but she was going to do it. Right after she got some sleep, she hadn't gotten much the night before due to the fact that she couldn't sleep without Tony anymore.

When she woke up again it was late, but not late enough for Tony to have gone to bed... then again he never did, so that wasn't saying much.

"JARVIS, can you ask Tony to come to my room please? Tell him I think we need to talk about elephants again and if he doesn't come than I will assume that I'm not wanted and leave as soon as I can get a new place. Actually, scratch the last part, just ask him to talk. I don't want to guilt him into coming."

"Of course, Mrs. Hartley." JARVIS turned Tony's music off down in the lab and when Tony demanded answers JARVIS delivered the message. "Sir, Mrs. Hartley asked me to ask if you would come up to her room to talk. She told me to tell you that you needed to speak about elephants again."

"Can you ask her if it can wait until tomorrow, or whenever I finally finish this?"

"I don't think that is a wise answer to send sir."

"Why not?" Tony asked as he stopped working on his project and looked up. He felt terrible and dreaded the answer he saw coming.

"She seemed quite distressed. Her entire request was: 'JARVIS, can you ask Tony to come to my room please? Tell him I think we need to talk about elephants again and if he doesn't come than I will assume that I'm not wanted and leave as soon as I can get a new place. Actually, scratch the last part, just ask him to talk. I don't want to guilt him into coming.' It is for this reason that I believe you should go now and not ask me to deliver your message." Tony felt his blood run cold; she thought he wanted her out. Tony leapt up and to the elevator. He went straight to Elena's room and entered without knocking. Elena was curled up on the bed in the room all alone.

"Where'd Loki go?"

"He went to brush up in his diagnostic spells. Said he didn't understand the reading he got from the one he used on me. I told him I was fine, it's just a stomach bug, but he insisted."

"Why did you want to talk?" Elena opened her mouth to reply but he cut her off. "If you think for one second I don't want you here than I'm going to kidnap you and tie you up in my bedroom." Her eyes grew wide and Tony walked over to sit on the bed with her. "You know I love you and that is not likely to change, ever. I just needed some time to be my stupid boneheaded self. I'm sorry I reacted the way I did. I really don't hate you and I really don't want you to ever leave."

"I'm sorry for breaking my promise and telling everyone about your eyesight. I only meant it as a joke and they really do look good on you." Tears were falling from her eyes and Tony felt terrible for ever making her think he didn't want her around. He pulled her to him and held her as she cried herself to sleep. He felt a small piece of his heart break and a single tear ran down his cheek before he furiously wiped his eyes.

"I love you." He murmured into her hair before he fell asleep himself.


	14. Loki's News

**I own nothing.**

Potion: Write about a magic potion. What's it made of? What's it do?

Tony stayed with Elena until she kicked him out. His reasoning was that he did not want her to be alone so she waited until Loki came in around 11am. Tony pouted as he left which made Elena laugh.

"So I see you two made nice?"

"So I see you have something in your hand that you hid from Tony?"

"Yeah, I did some research and found this. It should give me a definitive answer to whether my results yesterday were correct. It's an Asgardian method that works like a blood test but in seconds and you can pick and choose what you want it to narrow in on first."

"What are you testing me for anyways? And what is that?"

"It's a potion made mostly from herbs and flowers plus some of my magic. As far as what I'm testing for... I guess you could call it a parasite." He handed her the small vial and she drank it reluctantly. A few seconds later Loki's eyes grew wide and he sharply inhaled. "Oh, Fury is going to be pissed."

"Why, what's wrong with me?"

"One minute, I'll be right back. Don't worry it's not urgent or dangerous or life threatening or anything. I'll be back in a minute." Loki was back in a minute; he had put something in his pocket but sat down beside Elena on the bed.

"So nice weather we're having right?" Elena asked

"Really?" Loki rolled his eyes "So... um turns out I was right yesterday when I did the diagnostic on you..."

"Which means what?"

"You're pregnant."

"I'm what?"

"Pregnant."

"I can't be pregnant!"

"I brought you a test from Natasha's room if you want to check." He pulled the box from his pocket and handed it to her. She took it and ran to the bathroom to pee on the stick. She came back out 5 minutes later.

"I'm pregnant."

"Indeed, so what are you going to do about it?"

"Tell Tony?"

"Are you going to keep it?"

"Well I'm not going to throw it out the window."

"Not what I meant."

"I want to keep it, and if Tony doesn't then I could always leave."

"I don't see Tony not wanting it. Oddly enough I think he would make a good father if only to spite his own."

"Yeah, that comment started out nice."

"Does this mean you're going to tell the team about the two of you?"

"I really need to talk to Tony about all of this."

"When?"

"Not today, maybe tomorrow? Definitely this week, or before I start showing?"

"Probably a wise course of action."

"Shut up, you're not pregnant."

"I have been before."

"What?"

"Don't you ever read about Norse mythology?"

"I thought that part was a lie."

"Most of it was. I only have two children. The one I mothered, what you would call an octo-horse, and Hel."

"I'm so screwed."

"That's actually how you got into this situation."

"Get out Loki." He smirked but left the room. Elena sat there for an hour or so before she realized she needed some comfort. Not up to going to the lab and having Bruce comment or ask questions she just went straight up to the penthouse. She curled up hugging Tony's pillow and wearing his shirt before drifting off to sleep.

Tony walked into his bedroom looking for Elena. JARVIS had told him she was in here when he went to her room and she was nowhere to be found. He stared at the figure in his bed. Lying there was Elena in his Black Sabbath t-shirt and clutching his pillow like a life line. He smiled and went over to her, removing the pillow and replacing it with his body, he quickly fell asleep.

The next morning when they woke up they decided to have a lay in. Elena saw no harm in it since their relationship was going to be ousted soon anyways. They lay in bed having whispered conversation for another hour before both finally gave up and left the room to go about their days. Of course Tony had to take his shirt back first and he got sidetracked, but in the end he left his room wearing his Black Sabbath t-shirt and a massive grin that Bruce refused to comment on. Elena left the floor with messy hair and weak knees, she ran into Loki who raised an eyebrow. She shook her head and he sighed and left her to enter her room alone.


	15. Preggo my Eggo

**I own nothing.**

So ironic: Write about something ironic that happened

"Hey, beautiful." Tony gave Elena a peck on the cheek and sat down beside her. She smiled but it quickly fell at the giant stack of papers in his hands.

"What's all that?"

"I need a new CEO. Pepper's pregnant and doesn't want to work anymore; or not for me at least."

"Pepper's pregnant?"

"Yup, interesting right?"

"Yes, how do you feel about her having kids? Or just kids in general really?"

"Are you fishing? It feels like your fishing."

"I'm not fishing, I'm genuinely curious. Besides if you said you didn't want any I'm sure I could convince you somehow."

"If you must know, I really don't care about her being pregnant. I don't love her and I don't think I ever have. I'm... happy for her, but I'm pissed that she's quitting because now I need to hire someone new. If I'm honest I do want kids, in the future, maybe when I get my shit cleaned up. I can live without them but I wouldn't mind having one or maybe two? Depends on what the first one is like."

"So you don't want kids right now, is what I'm hearing?"

"Yes, that's what you're hearing." He said, already distracted by reviewing the resumes in front of him. They seemed to be people who already worked for him and people on the council.

"That's ironic." Elena commented as she rose and walked into the kitchen. A few seconds later a wide eyed Tony marched into the kitchen.

"Why is it ironic?" He seemed kind of frantic and Elena almost felt bad for not being able to tell him it was a joke.

"Did I say ironic? I meant convenient." He blew out a sigh and sat down in the stool opposite to where she stood.

"You really shouldn't make comments like that." He seemed so relieved she almost laughed in anticipation.

"Yeah sorry, it's just convenient and ironic that you said these things. I mean it's convenient that you want kids, and ironic because I'm pregnant and you wanted to wait until you get your shit sorted out." The small smile fell immediately from his face and he went deathly pale.

"You're...?"

"Pregnant? Yes, I'm pregnant; did you not catch that the first time around?"

"Ohgodohgodohgod. Fury is going to kill me. Sam is going to kill me. Natasha is going to kill me. Loki will find some kind of amusement here. Steve will give me that really disappointed frown, and is it bad that that's literally all that's bothering me about this? The possible death, laughter, and frowns; because I really should be freaking out about you being pregnant with, what I assume is, my child, right?"

"This is actually quite amusing on its own. I can't wait until we tell everyone about everything."

"I really need a drink."

"No you don't. Please don't, I don't want to be the only one who has to deal with this news sober!"

"Fine, are we going to tell them everything right away? When do you want to tell them and how are we going to go about doing it?"

and how are we going to go about doing it?"

"Let's go sit down, we need to talk about this." They walked into the living area and sat on the couch. Elena curled up into Tony and he wrapped his arms around her.

"I am happy about this you know?"

"I know, I can tell from your eyes." He kissed her then and when they parted she bit her lip. "Loki already knows, he was the one who told me, the other day when we made up and he came in as you left?"

"Oh, that was a few days ago, why the wait?"

"I wasn't sure how to tell you, as it is it just slipped out tonight."

"I think we should tell Bruce first."

"That's probably for the best. Then we can tell the team about our relationship, but not the pregnancy, I want to get some amusement out of this."

"Okay, so do we tell them during dinner? Are you still going to be going on missions?"

"Yes, and I don't know. I don't think I should, just in case, but how would I explain to Fury why I'm not showing up?"

"Why don't we tell Fury everything? He can say he's putting you on suspension or something."

"That sounds believable; I don't want to tell the team until the first three months pass. That means I need to get tested to see how far along it is. Do you think Fury will agree?"

"It's hard to tell but I think we could get him to. We should tell him before we tell Bruce anything, maybe go to base tomorrow morning to talk to him? Then talk to Bruce in the afternoon and the team at dinner."

"This is going to be a lot of secret sharing." Tony smirked and kissed Elena again. It soon spiraled out of control and they broke apart when they needed to breathe. Tony's lips weren't idle for long though, he attached himself to her neck and trail kisses up and down the column of her throat. "Bed?" Elena moaned as Tony found a particularly sensitive point on her neck.

"I don't know here seems pretty nice." He whispered before claiming her lips again. Her picked her up bridal style and walked to the bedroom. The two spent the night celebrating their impending parenthood and the announcements they were to make the next day. They didn't need to hide anymore.


	16. The Secret's Out

**I own nothing.**

Sharing: Write about sharing something with another person

As was planned, the duo flew to the helecarrier the next morning just after breakfast. Tony stormed onto the bridge with Elena following around behind him.

"Fury, we want to talk to you in private." He stated

"I thought I banned you from this aircraft unless you were invited on."

"We have some very juicy gossip that you not only will want to know but need to know. Your office is this way, right?" Fury rolled his eyes but stormed off in the correct direction. The office was regulation and not a thing had been personalized in it. Elena sat in the stiff chair in front of his desk as Tony stood over her right shoulder.

"So...?"

"Elena and I are together romantically and have been since she broke her wing with the flying insects. I may have also gotten her pregnant and now we are going to have a baby." Fury's one eye twitched slightly so Elena jumped in to try and soften the blow.

"Only Loki and Bruce know about our relationship and we plan to tell the others tonight. Loki is the only other person that knows about my pregnancy because he diagnosed me. We figured we should tell you before the rest of the team so you can say you knew about it before Natasha." He looked between the two people in front of him and sighed.

"You can't go out on missions if you're pregnant."

"We were hoping you could say you put her on suspension for some reason. We want to wait a little while before we tell them about the pregnancy because they are only just finding out about the relationship."

"I also don't want them to think Tony's a man whore who got me pregnant, felt bad, and started dating me."

"Fine, I will come up with something..." Fury paused as if debating something. "Congratulations, I'm surprisingly pleased for you two, especially Tony though. You actually look like you sleep now, you haven't done that or trusted anyone enough to spend the night with them since before you almost died from the palladium."

"Thank you director, we should probably get going. Have a nice day, or at least not an annoying one." Elena smirked as she dragged Tony from the room and then from the airship. They flew home and waited for Bruce in the kitchen he usually used for lunch. It was private and none of the other avengers used the labs or the kitchens near them. Bruce wandered into the kitchen with his head down and his fingers dancing over the screen of a stark pad.

"Hey Bruce, you know a bunch of medical stuff right?" the aforementioned man jumped at the sound of his lab partners voice.

"Hi Tony, what did you do now that needs medical attention?"

"I got her pregnant."

"You what?"

"Hey that was his reaction!"

"Umm..."

"Can you tell how far along a pregnancy is?"

"Yes..."

"Good, do it."

"Does this mean you're going to tell the team everything?" the duo explained their plan and Bruce nodded. "Can I skip that shit storm?"

"No." Tony stated with a smile

"Fine, let's go see how far along you are."

"Are you going to eat first?"

"Nope, JARVIS told me you two were standing here like creeps so I came to see why."

"I'm not a creep if it's my building."

"Yes you are, don't kid yourself." Elena patted him on the arm as she walked passed him. He scowled but it was ruined when it quickly turned into a smile when she gave him a quick kiss. The tests were done quickly and it was determined that Elena was two months along. She nodded and smiled slightly before hugging Bruce and skipping from the lab leaving two grinning geniuses.

Dinner finally came and Tony and Elena waited anxiously for the best time to tell everyone the news, or part of it. The meal was close to ending when Loki and Bruce both looked at the couple, who had managed to sit side by side at the table, and raised questioning eyebrows. Elena looked at Tony and motioned for him to speak; he rolled his eyes but assented and spoke up, cutting off Steve's war story as he did.

"Hey guys, guess what."

"Tony, you just cut Steve off." Sam intoned

"My story is much better and actually pertains to the here and now."

"Fine, just tell your story then sit back and let Steve finish his." Natasha rolled her eyes and sighed in annoyance.

"So you won't ask any questions or make any comments after I tell it?"

"For God's sake Tony, speak!" Steve burst out

"Fine, so here I was and here Elena was, then we started to talk about elephants. I got drunk, she got drunk; we slept together, and then avoided each other for a time. Then we talked about elephants again when she broke her wing and we kissed; now we're dating and a happy couple. The end, continue Steve."

"What? I'm not continuing now! We need to talk about this!" Steve blurted out

"Does Fury know?" Natasha asked

"What do you mean 'elephants'?" Clint asked

"So it started with a one night stand?" Bucky had a smirk on his face and seemed quite content.

"Why don't Loki and Bruce seem surprised?" Wanda had her eyes narrowed and focused on the two men who seemed entirely unimpressed.

"Yes, Fury knows, technically it started with a one night stand but it didn't really start for a few weeks after that happened so... no? Bruce and Loki already knew and have since the beginning."

"You skipped my question." Clint pointed out

"Any other questions?"

"Yeah, mine!"

"Well, if there are no more questions can we go now?"

"ANSWER MY QUESTION!"

"Yes Clint we said elephants and we meant, like, elephant in the room and pink elephants. In other words we talked about why he never sleeps, got drunk and saw the pink elephants, and then we talked about him avoiding me."

"Oh, thank you Elena, I like you more than I like Stark. You should be my new areal partner when we're on missions." Clint smiled sheepishly and Elena smirked back.

"She can't, Fury suspended her for a little while."

"What? Why?" Steve asked

"Ask him, I just agreed because he's the boss." Elena stated, her phone began to ring and when she looked at it everyone at the table noticed her skin tone pale.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked as he put a hand on her shoulder

"My parents are calling me, they never call me; they hate me."

"Are you going to answer it?"

"No?"

"You're going to answer it."

"Okay." She picked up the phone and everyone watched as she was basically lectured from the other side of the call. She answered in small tones and sat meekly as she was talked at instead of to. When she hung up the phone her eyes were wide and scared so the team watched as Tony pulled her to him. They were surprised that he would be that way, even if they were together.

"What's going on?" He whispered into her hair from where his chin rested on her shoulder. His subdued manner was another surprise to the team but they snapped out of it in favor of hearing what was wrong.

"They're coming... to New York... with my sister. They want to visit me while they're here. They don't know anything about my life here, or that I'm an avenger. I haven't talked to them since I moved to the Tower."

"Why are they coming here in the first place? You told me they hated New York."

"They did, until my sister got a job at a hospital here. Now they love it here and are coming over to help her move into her apartment. At least I can live with the knowledge that I have the nicer place and a cooler job that's harder to get than hers."

"Where is she moving?" Tony seemed to be avoiding the questions the rest of the team wanted answered but they let him lead the questioning.

"Brooklyn I think."

"How are they traveling here?"

"Plane, her stuff is coming in overnight delivery to her new place."

"When are they getting here?"

"One week from today at 11am,"

"What aren't you mentioning?"

"I have to go pick them up and bring them to my apartment because her stuff isn't going to be arriving until 3:30pm."

"What if you didn't have a car? What would they expect you to do? They think you're broke and can barely afford food and rent, let alone a car and the gas prices here."

"Order a cab or a car? They said they would pay for half the fair."

"You wanna take one of my cars and some company?"

"Yes to the car, no to the company. I would rather scare them when they get here than in public at the airport." Tony chuckled and kissed her neck lightly.

"I'll call one of my more discreet drivers to be here for 9:30 one week from today. That should give you time to get to the airport and a place to park before you get inside and wait." Tony stood and pulled out his cell before leaving the room. Elena stayed staring blankly at the table in front of her. Tony came back moments later and looked at her with concern. "Come on, you should relax, you've had a busy day." He smirked before picking her out of her chair and lifting her into her arms like she was nothing. The team watched as he carried her to the elevator and ordered JARVIS to bring them to his room.

"Well that was eventful..." Natasha stated

"Not as eventful as next week will be." Sam mentioned. He really had no idea.


	17. Visit from the Parents

**I own nothing.**

Drama: Write about a time when you watched two people fighting

Two nights before Elena's parents were set to arrive Tony and she were sitting in the living area on his floor. He was looking over the final four candidates for the CEO position and she was reading about ways to hide a dead body.

"None of those work as well as they advertise they do." He commented as he threw one of the four folders to the floor. "I have it narrowed down to these three based on eligibility, work ethic, their interviews, and their references. I don't know which one to hire. I know Pepper doesn't like these two but I honestly don't think this one can make it surrounded by us. She seems too shy and meek to be able to manage me and my company."

"Let me see." Elena stole the three files and read each one carefully.

"I think this one has the best chance at surviving, this one has the best past to run the company, and the one Pepper likes would pass out within seconds of meeting Steve. If I were you I would hire the first one. You want durability over best to run because if you hire someone that's going to run it well but she won't last than you're back to square one again. If you hire someone who will last, you can teach them how to run it to your standards. I don't recommend having Pepper teach her how to do the job though."

"If Pepper didn't then who will?"

"You can."

"No."

"I can."

"How? You haven't run my company before."

"You give me the guidelines that I would need and I can teach them. I'm a quick study and would've graduated high school two years early if I had been enrolled. Plus it's not like I can do my real job and I will go stir crazy if I can't do anything. I know how to do it after I snooped through your files and read everything plus watching you and Bruce gave me a pretty good idea as well."

"You snooped through my files?"

"Yes, you left them open, now focus."

"Fine, you teach her. Pepper asked for me to get her out of work the soonest I possibly can. That means I could give her the next six days of work then she's done. It should be enough time to tie up loose ends and notify everyone of the change. I'll send her the e-mail now, that way she can have everything ready to go tomorrow." Tony rushed for his tablet and quickly typed up the e-mail that had all the needed information and just the right amount of formality for this kind of thing.

"I love you." Elena told him before yawning.

"Why don't you go get some rest? You look exhausted what with the growing of tiny humans and what not." Elena nodded and headed for their, now shared, room. They had finally moved in with each other and shared Tony's floor. It was fun and they genuinely enjoyed living on the same floor, mainly because Elena didn't need to leave every morning to get dressed. Tony joined her soon enough and held her as she fell asleep.

The morning came for Elena's family to arrive. Elena woke up and ran to the bathroom with a blurry eyed Tony on her heels. This had become routine for them. Elena wakes up and runs to the bathroom, Tony follows, Elena pukes as Tony held up her hair, and then when it was all over Tony went to begin breakfast as Elena showered and got ready for the day, then Tony would shower as Elena finished breakfast, they ate together, and then left for the day. Today was no different.

Elena hopped into the shower the second Tony exited the bathroom. She quickly showered and then went to the closet to get dressed in something appropriate to wear to the airport to pick up her family. She ended up choosing a pair of black skinny jeans, a red plaid flannel shirt of Tony's (he would forever refuse that he liked it), a grey beanie hat, and a brown pair of combat style boots. Hearing Tony already in the shower she went to the kitchen to make the part of breakfast that Tony was incapable of making.

Tony came out in his customary lab attire: a black long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a pair of black pants that seemed like jeans and dress pants rolled into one, and very worn out grey converse. His hair was still slightly wet and she smiled at the sight. He sat down as she put two plates on the island and she joined him. They ate in mostly silence and Tony waited until she was done eating to leave.

"Are you sure you don't want company?" Elena smiled and kissed him but nodded.

"Thank you though, it's very sweet. However, I know for a fact that you are supposed to meet with Pepper and your new CEO today while I'm still gone. I will be back before you know it, or at like 12:45."

"Very funny," He pulled out his phone and looked down. "Your car is going to be here in ten minutes and Bruce wants me in the lab in twenty. Want me to walk you down?"

"Sure, but only if you promise to change before the two of them get here."

"I suppose that's doable."

"And I mean change styles. None of this lab attire, I want to see you in one of your overpriced Italian suits and a pair of not as worn out converse."

"I guess, come on we should start to head down now, go grab your sweater and purse." Elena went and did just that. "Is that my shirt by the way? I meant to ask earlier but I got sidetracked by food."

"No it's my shirt." Elena defended as they entered the elevator.

"Yeah, but only because you stole it."

"You always say you hate it and refuse to wear it." The duo stopped their bickering when the doors opened and they saw Steve and Bucky waiting there. "Good morning you two, where are you off to?" Elena smiled brightly and Steve nodded in her direction.

"We were going to go down to the garage and take our bikes out. You headed to the airport?" Elena nodded and Tony smirked "Did Tony convince you to bring him so he can get out of his two meetings?"

"Nope, he's escorting me to the car and then going to the lab to meet Bruce as asked."

"Asked by whom?" Bucky wondered

"Bruce..."

"You told him to ask didn't you?"

"No..."

"Elena! And here I thought you loved me!"

"I don't, it's all been a big lie."

"Traitor," Tony muttered as the doors opened and the two pairs went their separate ways.

"We'll see you when you get back Elena!" Steve called back. Tony escorted her to her car and saw her off before going down to the lab.

When Elena arrived at the airport she really wished she'd taken Tony with her. The plane had already landed and her family was waiting for her, she was late. She walked briskly up to them and winced slightly at the smell her sister was emanating. It was like she'd bathed in perfume.

"Elena, nice to see you're still alive." Leah, her sister, commented.

"Yes, and you're late." Her mother stated harshly.

"Sorry, car got caught in traffic. There was an accident on fifth and I was stuck for longer than anticipated."

"Enough excuses, let's go, you know your father dislikes airports." The trio of family followed Elena as she walked back to the car. It was parked close to the entrance without being too close as to create a danger or get them stuck in the outgoing traffic. When they walked up to the car her parents frowned.

"How do you have enough to afford a private car like this?" Her father asked

"It's not mine, a... friend and roommate of mine lent me the service of this car as a consolation prize."

"Consolation prize?" Leah asked before Elena shoved her toward the open door of the back seat. Once they were all piled in she looked at the driver that was standing outside the car with her.

"Sorry about the smell." She offered

"Sorry for your childhood and past with them." He returned before smiling and closing the trunk. They both entered the car and the driver looked at her. "Back home Mrs. Hartley?"

"Yes please, and can you send word ahead to them when we get about ten minutes away?" She whispered the last part and was certain that none of her relatives heard her. He nodded and rolled up the dividing window with a not so fake but exaggerated gag. Elena smiled and turned back to her family.

"So where is your place anyways?" Leah asked when they were only a few minutes away from the tower. "Did this guy take a wrong turn or is your place still really far away? Where is Brooklyn from here?"

"Brooklyn is about 35 minutes from here."

"So we probably have a long time until we reach your place right?" Leah demanded as the driver pulled into the parking garage of the tower, he stopped the car in front of the elevator.

"Actually we just got here. You can leave your stuff in the car; it will drive you to your apartment later. For now we can head up."

"Where are we?" Elena's mother asked as they got out of the car and she looked around to see the expensive cars and fancy interior.

"Home, for me anyways, we are in Stark Tower. I will show you my place first and then I need to make a few visits to the lower floors of the building."

"You live in Stark Tower?" Leah asked as they entered the elevator.

"JARVIS my floor please, and notify Tony and the others that I'm back."

"Who are you talking to and who is Tony?"

"Of course Mrs. Hartley, will that be all?" The other three occupant of the elevator began to look around frantically for the voice that had come out of nowhere.

"Is Pepper and the new CEO here already?"

"Yes, they are currently on common floor 4. Mrs. Potts is not happy and is yelling at sir, the new CEO is standing to the side silently with the rest of the team, who are there for amusement, she looks close to fainting."

"JARVIS, new plan, Common floor 4 first and I will go to my apartment later."

"Of course."

"Well guys, you get to meet the Avengers and the new and old CEO of Stark Industries."

"Why?"

"They're my friends and teammates, plus I'm going to be training the new CEO while Tony works, because he really doesn't want to and I can't go on missions at the moment anyways due to my suspension that my boss, Director Fury, ordered."

"You are an Avenger and on a first name basis with Tony Stark?"

"More than a first name base, he's my boyfriend and I live with him on his floor. The others have shared floors." The elevator dinged and opened. It was promptly filled with the screams of a pregnant Pepper, leaving the dumbfounded trio unable to reply.

"You can't hire her! She is not a good replacement!"

"Last I checked it was my company and you quit! I can hire whoever I want!"

"Hi, I'm Elena Hartley; I'm going to be the one training you." Elena introduced herself to the new girl.

"I'm Fiona Marks, but everyone calls me Mia."

"Well Mia, it's a pleasure to meet you. Don't worry about them; Tony's really nice to his employees and friends. Pepper won't even be here so you're safe there. Plus Tony's always in the lab anyways." Mia nodded and Elena smiled.

"You're just doing this because you're jealous that I'm with Happy!"

"Why would I be jealous? I don't love you!"

"Yeah, that's believable!"

"It is, I'm in a serious relationship of my own so I have nothing to be jealous of!"

"A serious relationship? With who? You and relationships aren't usually successful!"

"With Elena, I'm with Elena! We are both very happy for you about your pregnancy and very in love with each other!"

"Since when do you fall in love?!"

"Since I started going out with someone who I could trust and trusted me!"

"So you're just upset that I'm leaving then?!"

"Why would I be upset? It's your life and your choice whether or not to work after having a baby!"

"Oh, is that what Elena told you? Is she going to stop working if she ever gets pregnant?!"

"She already has stopped working!" everyone was silent and everyone in the room slowly turned to Elena.

"Surprise?" she said.

"You're pregnant?" Natasha asked

"Yeah, a little over 2 months now."

"How long have you known?" Wanda asked

"Since the last time Pepper and Tony had a shouting match in the common area for all of us to see. The next morning Loki told me I was and then a few days later I had Bruce confirm and set the time of how long I've been pregnant."

"Does nobody spill all their secrets during girls nights anymore!?" Wanda moaned dramatically.

"Oh speaking of that, here's that guys number." Natasha handed the younger and single girl a piece of paper before turning back on Elena. "Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"You're pregnant, unmarried, living with a man, and unmarried?" Elena's mother spoke breaking everyone out of their stupors. Everyone looked at the trio that still stood near the elevator.

"Does Fury know?" Natasha asked unperturbed

"We told him when we told him of our relationship, the same day we told you and the day after I told Tony about this. And yes mother, I'm pregnant and living with a man out of wedlock."

"Not for long..." Loki murmured.

"What?" Everyone asked Loki at the same time, except Tony who just glared.

"Nothing." Loki smirked

"Hey Elena, can I talk to you in the hall for a moment please?" Tony asked, speaking for the first time since his accidental admission. Elena nodded and followed him from the room.


	18. Proposal

**I own nothing.**

The promise: Write about a promise you made to or with someone else.

"What's up?" Elena asked curiously

"Sorry about blurting it out, I can't wait until I don't have to deal with her anymore."

"Tony, what did Loki mean when he said not for long?"

"Take my hand."

"Why?"

"I'm trying to ask you to marry me, so take my damn hand." Tony said calmly with a smile and a mischievous look in his eyes.

"What?" Elena asked as she gave him her hand. He pulled a small object out of the inside pocket in the expensive coat of his overpriced Italian suit.

"I want to make a promise to you, and I want you to give me one in return. Elena, I love you and I know you might say no because you think that I'm only doing this because of fetus, but I'm not. Well I am in a way, but not really. See the way I see it is you can either: say yes now and marry me before you start to show, or after, I don't really care, or you can wait until fetus is born and have to suffer through another terrible proposal. Now I can't offer you a ring because I didn't know what kind of gem you'd want, or what style, or basically anything about engagement rings and how they associate with you. What I will offer you is this piece of metal that I welded into a circle in the lab this morning. It won't cut you and actually looks pretty good as a ring, plus it will fit, and I promise to get you a real one as soon as you pick one. So will you marry me and all my issues along with me? I don't see them going away anytime soon. Some people try to bury their demons, but I like to feed mine so they don't get cranky so they will probably stick around for a while. What do you say? Can you promise to marry me if I promise to do the same?"

"Did you call our baby 'fetus' twice?"

"Maybe?"

"It takes a very special kind of idiot to pull off what you just did. Put the ring on my finger already." Elena said as she rolled her eyes. The cool metal wrapped around her finger perfectly. It was comfy and very pretty; she almost didn't want a real one. Tony must've seen her staring and spoke up.

"I promise to get you a new ring."

"Don't, I want to keep this as my engagement ring."

"But it's just a band."

"Then add a gem to it. Inlay a light blue gem."

"Why blue?"

"It reminds me of you. Metal and blue, it's fitting, no?"

"Shut up and let me kiss you already."

"I promise to marry you." She whispered just before their lips met in a passionate kiss.

"Right back at you." Tony smiled before pulling her to his chest for a few moments. They finally braced themselves and re-entered the room. Everyone looked in their direction.

"So?" Loki prompted

"Not for long." She confirmed, Loki smiled genuinely and then snorted.

"Really Stark?"

"Stop reading everyone's minds!" Tony and Elena yelled

"Never, it's amusing."

"What's going on?" Wanda asked

"We're getting married." Tony stated. "Soon-ish I think."

"When?" Pepper asked

"Soon-ish." Elena repeated with a glare.

"Pepper you still work for me for the next four days, go finish tying up loose ends and leave us alone." Tony added, Pepper left the room with one final glare and rode down to her current office.

"So, Mia, I will e-mail you the schedule for your training. Until you're fully trained Tony will take back the CEO position and then give you the reins when you and we all think you're ready. You're free to go."

"Thank you."

"See you around Mia." Tony called out to her as she got into the second elevator and left.

"Well, why don't I show you my apartment now?"

"No."

"No? So you guys just want to leave?"

"Yes."

"Okay then. The car is waiting in the garage, just tell the driver the exact address and you'll be there in no time at all."


	19. Labor and Baby

**I own nothing.**

Sugar: Write about something so sweet it makes your teeth hurt.

Tony and Elena got married when Elena was four and a half months pregnant. It was a small personal ceremony with the only guests in attendance being the Avengers and Fury, who married them. When they got back from their two week honeymoon they settled into life together happily. Elena's pregnancy went without a hitch and she was now in her ninth month and only two weeks from her due date.

"Hayden." Elena suggested, they'd been doing this for the past three months. They didn't know the sex of their baby and were still trying to find a name for it. Neither had achieved a winning name yet and they would just randomly say names in the hopes of finding one they both liked.

"For a boy or a girl?"

"Either?"

"No." Tony thought for a second and then returned his own name. "Phoebe."

"No." Tony chuckled and then looked at the time.

"I have to go back down to the lab, my time is up unfortunately."

"Ok, don't hurt yourself too much." Elena said as she went back to stuffing her face. Tony laughed and went back to the lab. Bruce and Tony had agreed to put a ban on the lab from Elena for safety reasons with the amount of accidents they had in there. She complied only because she had to.

An hour later, Elena was sitting alone in the living area on common floor 4, when she felt a sharp pain that felt an awful lot like a contraction. She checked the time and then started to think.

"JARVIS where is everyone at the moment?"

"Captain Rodgers and Mr. Barnes are in the gym, Mr. Barton and Mrs. Romanoff are in the shooting range, Dr. Banner and sir are in the lab, Mr and Mrs. Maximoff are in their rooms, Mr. Odinson and Mr. Laufeyson are talking on the roof, and Mr. Wilson is in the garage working on his bike unsuccessfully." Elena snorted at Sam's misfortune and replied.

"Thank you JARVIS, just thought it was a little too quiet."

"You are aware that I can read your vital signs, correct?"

"JARVIS, please don't tell anyone yet. I'm not ready and I will wait until they are closer together so that I don't need to wait in the hospital for hours."

"I advise against that course of action. It could become dangerous."

"I advise against talking to me or telling anyone about this until I'm ready or I will go on a killing spree of all your sensors." The AI stayed silent for the time being and Elena suffered another contraction. She looked and saw they were close together and decided to go to the hospital after all.

"JARVIS? I'm sorry, I love you." She told the AI as she stood and walked to the elevator. "Bring me down to the floor where my husband is please."

"You aren't allowed on the lab floors."

"I won't go into the lab, just to the floor and to the door outside of it." The elevator went to the correct floor and Elena disembarked. She knocked loudly on the glass and Bruce came over.

"Elena, you're not supposed to be on this floor."

"Can you go get Tony?" Bruce nodded and left her outside of the lab to retrieve her husband.

"Elena, what are you doing here? What's wrong?"

"I'm in labor; I think I should go to the hospital. Just thought I would invite you first, you know, seeing as how it is your child."

"You're in labor?"

"Yes, I really should get going now. So are you coming?"

"Yeah I'm coming, let's go." Tony exited the lab and took Elena's hand in his own. "JARVIS notify the team after we leave the garage that I'm taking Elena to the hospital to birth my child."

"Of course, sir."

"Did you have to phrase it like that?"

"I'm freaking out right now."

"Good, you should be. I will be later when it sinks in that I have to push something giant through a very small hole."

"Yeah, please don't make me see that."

"I won't, in fact you're not even allowed to move from by my shoulders."

"Okay, I can live with that." The team arrived at the hospital five minutes after Elena and Tony and settled into the waiting room for the child to be born. 12 hours later the couple had a tiny baby girl, who they named Lily Emily Stark. Loki and Wanda were the godparents of the little girl. What they got as a surprise, though, was the little boy they also had. He was named Ty Anthony Stark, and Natasha and Bruce were the godparents of him.

"They are so cute." Elena cried quietly into Tony's shoulder as he held Ty and she held Lily. "But don't you dare make me go through pregnancy and labor again."

"Deal." Tony chuckled "As long as you never make me live without you. Or deal with them without you."

"Deal." Elena muttered. She promptly fell asleep and Tony placed both babies into the tiny cribs in the room to do the same. Tony couldn't help but think that he'd never been happier.


End file.
